Helium Health (Nigeria, founded 2016) is Africa Electronic Medical Records (EMR) leader. 500+ facilities, 800K+ enrolled patients, $30M+ raised (Tencent, AAIC, Y Combinator W17). Presence Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal.
TL;DR
- Helium Health: Africa cloud EMR leader.
- 500+ facilities, 800K+ patients.
- $30M+ raised (Tencent, AAIC, Y Combinator).
- Presence Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Senegal.
Products
Helium EMR
- Cloud Electronic Medical Records
- Offline-first (Africa connectivity)
- Multi-language: EN, FR, local languages
- Medical imaging integration
- Lab results, prescriptions
Helium Doc
- Telemedicine
- Video consultations
- Patient portal
- Doctors network
Helium Credit (HeliumCredit)
- Medical facilities lending
- Hospitals working capital
- Equipment financing
Helium Pulse
- Analytics + insights for hospitals
- Patient outcomes tracking
- Disease surveillance
HeliumOS (2024+)
- Complete hospital management
- Pharmacy, lab, billing integrated
Tech stack
- Cloud: AWS Cape Town region
- Mobile: Android offline-first
- API: REST + GraphQL
- Standards: HL7 FHIR
- Security: SOC 2, HIPAA-compatible
2026 metrics
- 500+ facilities (hospitals + clinics)
- 800K+ patients records
- Countries: Nigeria (80%), Ghana, Kenya, Senegal, Tanzania
- Funding: $30M+ raised
- Revenue: ~$20M ARR estimated
Investors
- Tencent
- AAIC (Asia Africa Investment Consulting)
- Capria Ventures
- Y Combinator W17
- Anne Wojcicki (23andMe co-founder)
- DFIs
Africa use cases
Private hospitals
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- 30-500 beds typical
- Lagos, Accra, Nairobi
- Subscription: $500-5K/mo
Government healthcare
- Nigeria states pilots
- Senegal Ministry of Health partnerships
- MoH subsidized
NGOs / FAITH-based hospitals
- Mission hospitals
- Reduced premium tier
2026 competitors
- Mara Hospital (Kenya): Africa EMR
- CarePay (Kenya): healthcare payments
- Reliance HMO (Nigeria): insurance + EMR
- TIBU Health (Kenya): telemedicine
- Open MRS: global open-source alternative
Africa tech challenges
- Connectivity: offline-first essential
- Skills: limited doctors EMR training
- Data privacy: Nigeria NDPR, SA POPIA
- Languages: multi-language + local languages
- Hardware: rural clinics tablets
2026 Africa telemedicine
- Post-COVID 2020-2026 boom
- 4G/5G + smartphone penetration
- Urban doctors serve rural
- Use cases: consultations, prescriptions, mental health
FAQ
Q: Africa healthtech builders?
A: Vertical-specific EMR (maternal, pediatric, HIV), specialized telemedicine, drug supply chain (cf mPharma), bundled insurance + healthcare.
Q: Invest Africa healthtech?
A: Funds: Africa HealthCare Fund, AfroVCF, Endeavor Catalyst. Y Combinator backs regularly.
Q: Scalable economic model?
A: Bundled EMR SaaS + payments + insurance + lending. Helium Health multi-product pivot demonstrates.
Conclusion
2026 Helium Health: Africa EMR leader, 500+ facilities, 800K+ patients. EMR + telemedicine + financing + analytics bundling demonstrates scalable Africa healthtech pattern. For builders, vertical niches (maternal, mental health) + Africa-specific integrations (mobile money, local languages, offline-first) = premium differentiation.
Mohamed Bah
Fondateur, Kolonell
Passionate about digital and entrepreneurship in Africa, Mohamed has been helping Sénégalese businesses with their digital transformation since 2020. Founder of Kolonell, he believes every SME deserves a professional and accessible online présence.
